Sunday, August 16, 2026

Sunday fun day!

I had a little bit of 'free time' today ... you know exactly where I headed: into the fun room!  Playing with a few challenges is a great way to pass time!

First up - my sweet friend Marcia is the host at Color Hues #139 - she picked a color combo perfect for the last blooms of Summer... or maybe a Christmas card?  Challenge taken, Marcia!


One might not agree that these are right for Christmas, but I beg to differ with you...
take a look - I think the colors are perfect for a red-headed Christmas toddler and her friend, Teddy!


Am I right?


I adore this sweetie from Penny Black called Beary Merry!  Stamped in black, clear embossed, and colored with Distress reinkers: Mustard Seed, and Carved Pumpkin.

Next up, I'm heading to Christmas Kickstart Challenge #113: Friends for Life - I have a friendship from Mother Nature & Penny Black's Deck the Halls

JOY die from PB. Stitch lines from Concord & 9th and Kristina Werner's 
Finishing Touches dies.



I took this card to the 'masculine side' so I could also play along with those fabulous Jingle Belles: Masculine Merriment challenge! By adding SU Chocolate Chip reinker
to that big, beautiful JOY it seems more masculine to me - show me a guy who doesn't love critters!  My sub-sentiment is from 
PTI's Wonderful Words: JOY!


One more seems right... CAS Mix Up August 2026 has a technique of stenciling over patterned paper.  I just love all the cards their team have made!  Mixed media is not my thing and keeping it CAS makes it even more of a challenge, right?  I've given it my best attempt using a paper from HoneyBee and an image from Altenew: Casual Bouquet that includes a set of stencils.  Be honest... does this work?


The gradient design of this dsp still shows through after stenciling
which I was very happy about.


I used Honeycomb Corners from The Greetery to add those little
hexagons - keeping it pretty CAS.


Okay, the boss is home, so I'd better make it look like I'm doing something besides playing!  Thanks so much for stopping by!
=] Michele

30 comments:

Loll said...

Always great when you can have a fun day, Michele! Three fabulous cards. Love the Christmas card in yellow and orange. I would never have thought to use those colours for Christmas, but your image is perfect for it. Sweet card using the Immense Joy die and having an adorable image from Colorado Craft Co. in the center. :) And the final card is wonderful! Love the gorgeous patterned paper you've used. Your stencil works perfectly with it and pops off the honeycombs. Great work. Thanks for joining us at CAS Mix Up! xx

Bonnie said...

Looks like you had a very fun day, Michele! Thanks for sharing your fun with the rest of us! Love how you used the Color Hues colors for this delightful Christmas card! Very unexpected and fun! Your JOYFUL nature card certainly works for a masculine card or a feminine card for a nature lover! Such a sweet scene and a perfect sub-sentiment! Your stenciling is amazing with this patterned paper! Perfectly beautiful, my friend!

Lisa Elton said...

A double does of cuteness and a single does of pretty! I'll take it! Marvelous makes, Michele. Did you have the boss fooled?? LOL!!

TK said...

These are fun and so awesome! I think your bright, first card is amazing and unexpected; your second is sweet as can be; and finally your third works wonders! I think it's perfect and works beautifully with your pp, which I myself just recently used.

Jeanne said...

So happy you had a fun filled day. Look at all these beauties! So pretty and happy!

Bobby said...

I need to have a fun day with my stamps/dies but my mojo has been waiting for a rainy day I think. You made the best of your fun time with three fabulous cards, Michele. I never would have thought of using yellow and orange for Christmas but you had the perfect image to do just that and the card is adorable. I did a lot of cards with the JOY last year and your image in the center of the O is so cute. I definitely think the stenciling over the hexagon paper works. Thanks for sharing that one with us at CAS Mix-Up.

Dotty Jo said...

What a gorgeous selection of cards, Michele. Your ability to flit between different styles and designs never fails to leave me ever-so slightly speechless with admiration. Thrilled to have you join us over at The CVhristmas Kickstart Challenge. Jo x

HilaryJane said...

I love the yellow and orange for Christmas. So cheery and the image is so cute. Your other cards are lovely too, but that little red head wins hand down. When I was young my hair was quite ginger. I miss it sometimes xx

Linda Callahan said...

I am loving the yellow for that sweet holiday card! You were on a roll for beautiful holiday cards!

Pat said...

Three brilliant cards Michele and the first with orange and yellow is different for Christmas but it does work and the image is so cute and a lovely coordinating sentiment too. The second masculine make works well too and the dark brown really pops against the white and the stitched detail across the card is great, and of course the little bird and mouse are fun and cute and beautifully coloured. The last on patterned paper is wonderful and the fading of the paper towards the centre works well with your placement of those gorgeous clean and crisp flowers and perfectly finished with the lovely stamped sentiment and the little die cut hexagons top and bottom. Thanks for joining us over at CAS Mix Up. x

Marcia Hill said...

Well you know the 1st card totally has me smiling Michele...it's an ADORABLE image yes, yellow and orange do work for Christmas! Thanks for taking up my challenge AND for playing along with us at Color Hues! Your JOY card is absolutely wonderful, and I love the image in the center! The dashed lines too! And your 3rd card with the stenciling on the honeycomb dsp is AWESOME...CAS and BEAUTIFUL!! You definitely had a fun play day!! P.S. You may borrow my Cosmos Border Stencil anytime! I've already made quite a few cards using different color combos with it and they've all turned out beautiful! I'm not getting email notifications when someone comments on my blog anymore, so I can't reply unless I do it directly on my blog, and who ever goes back to see if someone replied to a comment?! Blogger drives me nuts! Hugs. :0)

Helen said...

Oh, I can see you had lots of fun Michele! 3 beautiful cards. I think changing up the colours for a Christmas card is lots of fun! Such a cutie! Love those sweet PB images on these Christmas cards. Enjoy your week! :)

JoAnn said...

What a fun day you had Michele. Your created three wonderful cards. Love the cute image you colored in yellow & orange on your Christmas card, looks great for Christmas. That big JOY card is a definite winner in my book. Love the sweet image in the O and the dotted lines behind it. The JOY looks great in brown. Then we have the beautifully colored flowers on the stenciled pattern paper. Very creative cards. TFS

Leslie Miller said...

That's what I call a fun day! Love those darling PB images in ANY color, and your stenciled flowers over the honeycomb are simply fabulous!

Karen said...

Not only did you have fun, but now you have three marvelous cards for your stash. You were #1 in the Color Hues gallery and your card is first-rate. I love the way you filled the O with that adorable scene. That word die is one of my favorites. And, yes, in my opinion the stenciling over the pattern paper, definitely works. It's just lovely.

Birgit said...

A fun day indeed! All three cards are delightful!! I adore the Christmas card you made using the colors from Color Hues. Brilliant!! The oversized JOY is just too adorable too. Last but certainly not least, your stenciling over printed paper looks fantastic! It definitely works!!!

My Paper Epiphany said...

A wonderful array of cards! You have created a real beauty for CAS Mix Up:)

Stephanie Lanzalotto said...

Three fabulous cards, Michele. I totally agree with the colors on the beary card. As a matter of fact, that little toddler could have been Tommy in our family with his carrot top and his stripy feetie PJ's!. Love the sweet little scene in the "o", and that sentiment is wonderful! The third with the stenciling over PP is fantastic. I just love the way that one turned out. You kept in CAS with some wonderful detail. Love them all!

donna mikasa said...

You certainly had a fun day on Sunday! We were dodging hurricane winds and rain going sideways. I totally missed this colorful post until now. I would never have thought to use those citrusy colors on a Christmas card--but it works! And I have that large JOY somewhere.....Stenciling over patterned paper looks amazing, too! Heck, everything you do is amazing!!!

Linda Callahan said...

Total sweetness abounds here!

Nancy said...

Well, you certainly rose to the occasion with Marcia's mention of a Christmas card. Leave it to you to pull it off so well! It is a darling image and card. As for your other two cards, I love them as well. Your card for CAS Mix it Up is going to be a winner, I just know it! It is lovely! Thanks for starting the gallery so strong at Color Hues.

lostinpaper said...

Now there is a challenge... yellow and orange for Christmas, but why not I say, especially when it's as adorable as this! And that little JOY scene, perfection and I feel like the Sending smiles works and i like the added hexagons... maybe I would have made it into a square but the offset is something fun and a little different which doesn't offend me at all lol.

lauren bergold said...

Oh my gosh all of these are beautiful, but of course the one that combines the FRIENDSHIP theme at Christmas Kickstart with out Masculine Merriment fun at Jingle Belles is my favorite!

Stef Perry said...

Looks like you have a fabulous time in the "fun" room, Michele! I'm glad you took Marcia up on her challenge. In your hands, these colors work beautifully for Christmas! That image of the little cutie and her bear are adorable. Thanks for playing along with us at Color Hues!

SmilynStef said...

love the sweet little scene inside of the "O" ... so very glad you joined us for some Masculine Merriment at Jingle Belles.

Cat Craig said...

Ah the wonder of a day filled with crafting joy. Your orange and yellow Christmas card is so darling. Amazing how the colors and images go well with a Christmas wish. I love the huge joy with the o filled. This is darling. Your found the perfect patterned paper to use with a stencil. Simply gorg!

Lisa Petrella said...

Fantastic cards, Michele! I especially love how you placed that adorable scene inside the "O" of the JOY die-cut!!!

Linda said...

What a fabulous set of cards. I think you can use any colour you like for Christmas cards, and your yellow and orange combo looks perfect!
Your stenciled flowers on the patterned paper look gorgeous. Great colours, love the stitching look around the edge, and the raised honeycomb pieces add real texture. Thanks for playing along at CAS Mix Up!

Sheri Gilson said...

Beary sweet card! Love how you used rhe colors to create a non traditional color combo for a holiday card. Thank you so much for playing along with us over at the Color Hues Challenge! 💛🧡

Tracey McNeely said...

Michele what a loaded post! lots of Penny Blak and your yellow and orange Christmas card is so beary sweet and perfect for the Color Hues challenge! That Joy die is one of my favourites and beautiful blending of the hexagon background! Thank you so much for sharing with us at the Color Hues!